


Archetype

by IudexInfernalis



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Tricksters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IudexInfernalis/pseuds/IudexInfernalis
Summary: The cage has been opened but no trace of Lucifer. At the same time Gabriel aka Loki is challenged by another Trickster, creating lots of chaos.





	1. Reaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my second work. Yes it's soon but I can't stop when I have a new idea.
> 
> I hope you like this as much as Paradise Rejected!
> 
> For those who came here because of Paradise Rejected I have good news and bad news.  
> The good news: There will be a sequel to Paradise Rejected.  
> The bad news: This isn't it.

Cheering – Silence – Panic, that was the reaction from both heaven and hell. The whole thing in reality only lasted a moment but for those invested in it the whole thing lasted for hours.  
At first there had been the anticipation, the wait for Sam Winchester to enter the building and finally kill Lilith. Demons knew that Lilith’s death was necessary to free Lucifer, angels were glad that there would be one less demon to kill during the great war that was coming. The tension both in heaven and hell became even stronger when they got the news that Sam Winchester had entered the building.  
Then finally, the death of the first demon. That was the cheering. It was the celebration of the fulfilment of the prophecy. Finally the fight could begin, the two forces could meet and their side would win, of course. Both sides were convinced of that.  
The cheering grew louder and louder as the portal opened, waiting for that beam of bright light that would announce Lucifer’s arrival on earth. It didn’t bother them that Dean Winchester had joined them in the building and with the help of Sam Winchester killed Ruby. They didn’t care about their shock as Lilith’s blood formed the ritual either. All that was irrelevant in comparison to the portal that would mark the beginning of the end for the world in its current state.  
Silence followed when instead of the bright beam of light of angelic grace being freed there was a black hole in the ground. They all waited, not only the angels and demons but also the hunters that stood directly next to the portal of the cage and waited for the inevitable. The silence stretched on and on. Nothing happened. It just stood there, as a hole in the ground. Reckless as always Dean Winchester took a step forward and cautiously peered down into the abyss of the cage.  
“Dude, it looks empty.”  
That was the moment the panic began.  
The cage was empty. How could the cage be empty? That was impossible! The cage couldn’t be empty! Lucifer should be free by now! Why wasn’t he freed?  
While the Winchesters were just incredibly confused, both staring now into the portal, both heaven and hell were in uproar. Angels and demons were running around, trying to find and explanation for what was happening. Maybe there was a way Lucifer left the cage without the bright light of grace. No, that wasn’t possible. Then what was it?  
Had the Winchesters been able to listen to ‘Angel Radio’ they would have heard thousands of voices speaking over each over. That was what Castiel was currently hearing. It brought the discovery that angels could get headaches and Castiel could have easily gone without that discovery.  
He was standing in heaven and not one angel was paying attention to him. Not that he necessarily wanted attention but he wanted to know what to do now that this unforeseen scenario had taken place. This hadn’t at all been accounted for. Nothing had pointed towards this. Nothing.  
Through the chaotic voices he heard something about an angel being sent to check if the cage really was completely empty before they closed it again. There would be no use for it anymore if that was the case. Still, the panic held and only become more the more time passed since the angel had been sent.  
When the angel finally came back he only confirmed what they already knew. The cage was empty. Worse, it looked like there never had been anyone inside it. The cage was not only empty, it was unused.  
Meanwhile Dean and Sam returned to Bobby’s to explain to him what happened.  
“So Ruby tricked me into freeing Lucifer. It was crazy. Her blood started forming this sigil and then the portal opened…”  
“And it was fucking empty! I swear, I looked!”  
“Which was the dumbest thing ever.”  
“Shut up, Sammy. Fact is that there was nothing inside that cage. So either Lucifer is dead or the devil has been around for longer than anyone would’ve expected.”  
“Let’s hope for the good option.”  
“Do you know our lives? It’s never the good option. It’s always the next shit getting thrown at us and it’s never gonna end.”  
“Stop being so pessimistic.”  
“I’m being realistic. It’s never the good option and it never will be.”  
“I come bearing bad news.”  
“See?”  
Cas had just appeared between them and while all of them had been surprised Dean easily got the proof he needed for his opinion. The angel looked confused as always before he simply continued.  
“Apparently the cage was not only empty but unused. That means there is a high chance that Lucifer has never even entered it.”  
Dean’s responding gesture was a clear ‘I told you so’. Sam hadn’t believed him but he had known. There was no way that they would get the good option. Life would never be done throwing shit at them, whether it was demons or angels or beings of literally any other type. Everything got thrown their way so why not? Then again…  
“But why didn’t he do anything? I mean, the guy’s been around for the whole time, apparently. He would’ve had millennia to fuck us up as much as he could possibly manage.”  
“Who knows, maybe he already did?”  
“Come on, Sammy, we’re talking about the devil here? Are you one of those ‘everything bad that happens to me is the work of the devil’ guys?”  
“No, but you already said there’s some fucked up shit in the world. Why can’t Lucifer be at fault for that?”  
“Because that would be the dumbest shit ever. The mighty fallen archangel goes around doing anything but trying to defeat heaven. Yep, sounds like a completely evil being to me.”  
“You can take you sarcasm and shove it up your-“  
“Stop it, you idjits! I swear, you’re giving me a headache.”  
Bobby opened a whiskey and took a big swig.  
“So what do we do now?”  
“I suggest we look for Lucifer.”  
Dean rolled his eyes at Cas.  
“Sure, because we have a magical devil radar that leads us straight to Lucifer. I’d say we just continue as always because either the devil’s gonna show on his own now that everyone knows he wasn’t in the cage or we’re just gonna run across him on a hunt.”  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  
“Got a better one? No? Then don’t shit on my ideas.”  
“Dean’s right, Sam. We can’t just walk around hoping the devil’s gonna jump out of the bushes and reveal himself to us.”  
“I definitely wouldn’t wanna see that.”  
“Dean, get your mind out of the gutter.”  
Castiel just looked at their bickering with a rather confused expression. He should be used to it by now but he wasn’t. Was there really a way to get used to this?  
Before their bickering could continue Bobby’s phone rang. It wasn’t a long talk and Bobby mostly listened before he agreed to send Sam and Dean. He hung up and looked at them.  
“Seems like I’ve got something to help distract you.”  
“What is it?”  
“Trickster”  
“Seriously, the Trickster?”  
“Not ‘the’ Trickster. Apparently we got two and in two separate locations.”  
“Awesome…”


	2. Diagnosis

„The Trickster, a being incorporated in all known faiths in some form, is the personification of an Archetype. It is known as an ambivalent being, neither good nor bad, known for being reckless, without instincts, irrational. It is often used in faith systems to point out the bad and therefore build social norms, sometimes through doing wrong itself. The Trickster is therefore a being somewhere in between the hero and the villain. Tricksters range from Prometheus, who brought the humans fire, to evil beings that kill people for the fun of it. The Trickster is also tightly connected with what is commonly known as psychopathy.”  
“Wait, what?”  
Sam sighed as he closed the book he had been reading from and looked at Dean.  
“Ambivalent means-“  
“Dude, I’m not dumb. I know what it means. I’m more concerned about the fact that we might be dealing with the supernatural version of a psycho.”  
“You do know that only about 1% of psychopaths kill people, right?”  
“I’m concerned that there’s even a statistic. What kind of lore book are you even reading?”  
“No lore book at all. It’s a book on Neuroscience.”  
“So it’s useless for us.”  
“I don’t know. There might be something to it.”  
“Sam, you said it’s on Neuroscience. The guy that wrote this never met a monster in his life. He might know how to pick apart a brain but he wouldn’t know a vampire from a werewolf.”  
“Look, all I’m saying is that it might not be that wrong. After all, I bet the guy read some lore on it before he wrote this.”  
“We both know that reading lore isn’t everything. Besides, even if it’s true, it’s not gonna help us. Or do you wanna recommend a good psychiatrist to the Tricksters?”  
“Very funny. You know, we might be able to find the Tricksters more easily if we know more about how they operate.”  
Dean sighed and shook his head.   
“Fine. If you wanna read up Trickster lore from a book on Neuroscience then be my guest but I don’t think it’s gonna do anything.”  
Both of them fell silent again. Dean wished Bobby had come with them but apparently he was needed elsewhere. Or he might just not want to have a run in with the Trickster which Dean found completely understandable.   
“We should split up.”  
“Come again?”  
“We know that we’ve got two Tricksters, right? We should take them both at once or one could warn the other about us coming.”  
“I don’t like that idea.”  
“Me neither but it’s our best chance. If one of them escapes us then we might not get a second chance.”  
Damn it. Sam was right. It wasn’t the best plan but it was better than letting one of them get away. It wouldn’t be easy to hunt a Trickster alone but they had to try.   
“I’d say we part at the next motel. It’s still a stupid idea though.”  
“Says the guy whose best battle plan is going in guns blazing?”  
“Hey, it worked before.”  
“You’re reckless.”  
“Are you calling me a psychopath?”  
Both of them laughed at that. They had heard it so often from so many people that they came across pretty psycho and he guessed to normal people it must seem that way. And to some hunters. And even to some monsters. Okay, maybe it came across that way a lot.   
Later at the motel Dean said down by the laptop while Sam took a nap. Next to it he saw the book Sam had been reading and his curiosity overwhelmed him. He took it up and started reading. It was honestly fascinating, not that he would admit that out loud.   
“So much for useless, huh?”  
Dean flinched and looked to the bed and saw Sam sitting up, smirking at him in a smug way that made Dean want to throw a book at him.   
“Whatcha doing up already? I thought you wanted to take a nap?”  
“I did? I’ve slept for three hours.”  
“Are you fucking with me?”  
He would have bet that he started reading ten minutes ago. How did 3 hours pass without him even noticing? Sam was laughing at him now and it was only annoying Dean more.   
“Don’t you dare say one more word about this.”  
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare.”  
Could someone please wipe that damn smug expression from Sam’s face.   
“Alright, the book is good, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna be helpful on the hunt.”  
“Whatever you say.”  
Dean stood and grabbed himself a beer out of the fridge. He definitely didn’t want to start with that discussion again. Sam was already smug enough. Maybe he would use a quiet moment to ‘borrow’ that book and continue reading.   
“Anyway, are you ready to go?”  
“You’re not going to sleep?”  
“Nah, I’m not feeling tired right now.”  
They both packed up and left the motel. Sam got himself a car and then they both parted, Sam taking the town to the west and Dean taking the city to the east.   
The motel was a bit outside of the city but Dean absolutely didn’t mind that. He didn’t want to take a room somewhere in the middle of the city. Maybe he should catch some sleep but he didn’t want to. He could always sleep after going around and questioning people. The first stop was the office of a politician.   
Dean really had no idea what to expect and that absolutely didn’t help him in holding back his laughter.   
Apparently the ‘honest’ and ‘hard-working’ politician had held a speech in front of his followers about integrity and so on when suddenly he had become really pale. He had doubled over and suddenly bills and coins came out of his mouth. Yes, apparently that guy had thrown up money.   
As it turned out the guy had been corrupt and taken money from all directions if they just offered enough.   
Should Dean find it hilarious? No. Did he find it hilarious? Hell yes. Sam would probably give him a big old bitchface but he couldn’t help it. Seeing the footage of it that originally had meant to be advertisement… It had been so damn hard not to break down laughing.   
Next he visited the politician himself. The man was in the hospital and pretty traumatized but only with minor injuries. He didn’t get much information though. Apparently no one but he himself had known that he had taken that money. It wasn’t until that speech that everyone else found out.   
Dean didn’t learn much that day except that apparently pennies could get stuck in a man’s nose.  
The first thing he heard the next day was news from the town Sam was in. A guy swore that he had seen multiple ghosts stepdancing around him and stealing his stuff. Dean was kind of glad that Sam had to deal with that one.   
Seeing that stuff it almost seemed like the Tricksters wanted to one up each other. That might actually be it. What if these Tricksters got competitive and were now trying to get the bigger and better ‘prank’ than the other?   
He had to ask around. If his theory was true than the whole thing might have started way earlier than they expected. Then again, two Tricksters getting competitive…  
“That can’t end well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly that book doesn't really exist but I didn't make these facts up. They are from a lecture I've been to.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Kidnapped

Sam arrived in the town he should check out a bit later than Dean did in his. He had found a nice place in the middle of town where he could comfortably reach everything that he wanted to check out. It didn’t seem like the town was anything special at first glance but he knew very well how deceiving looks could be.  
He had barely put his bad down when something came on in the news. Apparently a guy was convinced that he had been chased by werewolves. Not the kind they knew but the kind of half man half wolf furry thing that turned up in movies.  
Honestly, it would’ve confused Sam if he hadn’t already known that they were after tricksters. Especially since the werewolves did nothing but bark and throw tennis balls at the guy. For once Sam absolutely understood why the others in the city thought the victims were absolutely crazy. Werewolves throwing tennis balls was kind of funny, really, and so far no one had been hurt.  
Still, he had to find the trickster.  
At first he needed to talk to the victim himself. The guy was at his, nothing but a few bruises from the balls on him. Sam chuckled. That sounded like something Dean would make a joke about. He would have tried to make one but it wouldn’t be nearly as raunchy and punny as when Dean would have done it so he would just leave it be.  
The victim was a dog trainer, a pretty harsh one at that. Maybe too harsh in the opinion of the trickster that he was after. He found no evidence for any abuse of the dogs so either the guy was incredibly talented at hiding what he was doing or the trickster had simply been bored. Both options were possible. No doubt about it. If he talked to the owners of the dogs that had been given to the dog trainer he might find some evidence for the potential abuse.  
The families were all from this city so he would have no problem visiting them all. Hopefully they would be able to shed some light on why the trickster was going after the dog trainer.  
He came back to his motel with exhaustion deep in his bones. It had been a mix of praise to no end and deep hatred. There was no consistent opinion of the guy. It would have been easier if he had the chance to interrogate the dogs but well, it wasn’t like they would answer.  
It did look like some dogs turned out worse than before, so maybe the animal abuse theory wasn’t that far off from the truth. At least that was a logical explanation.  
Sam took up his phone and called Dean.  
“Hey Sammy. Got something.  
“Yeah, I think we got ourselves an animal abuser.”  
“Explains the kind of punishment he got.”  
“That’s what I was thinking. Anything on your end?”  
“Just a corrupt politician. By the way, I think we’ve got ourselves a trickster competition.”  
“Why do you think that?”  
“Look at how it went down. The pranks changed from the moment the pranks from the town became public. The pranks started to become more fitting, more tied to the ‘crime’ the victim committed.”  
“True. And what are we gonna do about it?”  
“I think we should- Ahhhhhh!”  
“Dean? Dean!”  
Sam stared at his phone for a moment, waiting for any sign that Dean was still there on the other end. What the hell happened? Who would jump Dean in the middle of a call. Okay, dumb question. Why would the Trickster jump Dean in the middle of a call? That didn’t seem like typical Trickster MO.  
He needed to leave here and save Dean. There was no way that he would leave his brother to himself. Tricksters weren’t exactly the most friendly people, especially when they were being hunted. It would lose them Sam’s assigned Trickster but that wouldn’t be as bad as losing Dean.  
Then again, so far no one had died. Maybe the Trickster wouldn’t hurt him and instead just fuck with him. Okay, the last time a Trickster fucked with Dean he died around 100 times.  
Sam was torn but in the end he would always go to find Dean. He grabbed his bag and put everything inside. His brother needed him.  
He was running out of his motel room when he suddenly heard a voice.  
“Hey moose.”  
“Trickster. What the fuck do you want?”  
“Now that’s just impolite.”  
“The last time we saw each other you killed my brother. Multiple times.”  
“Aw, come on. It was fun.”  
“What about killing my brother is fun?”  
“You’ve got to admit that I was pretty creative.”  
“In killing my brother. You don’t see that I might not be happy about my brother getting killed in your own version of ‘100 dumb ways to die’?”  
“Hey, we have a common enemy now.”  
“Really? Because from my angle it looks like you just don’t like competition.”  
“I’m always up for competition.”  
“Sure.”  
“No time for sarcasm. Aren’t you on your way to safe your brother?”  
“How do you know that?”  
“Because you two are as subtle as elephants?”  
Sam rolled his eyes. He wanted to kick the Tricksters ass but it wasn’t a bad idea. Who better to find a Trickster than a Trickster? Even though it was already concerning enough that there were two of them now.  
“You know that we’re going to come for you as soon as Dean is out of that other Trickster’s grip?”  
“I think you mean that you’re going to try because you won’t get me, Giant.”  
At least the Trickster would be the best help that he could get. Or he would send Sam in circles while the other one tortured Dean. Sam had so many horror pictures running through his head. He didn’t even want to think about all of the awfully creative ways in which the Trickster could end Dean.  
“Stop being so pessimistic, you sob mountain.”  
“You read my thoughts one more time and I’ll gank you right there.”  
“Woah, calm down. I’m just saying that your brother probably isn’t dead.”  
“But he could be hurt. Now get in the car and try to shut up.”  
He didn’t and if he tried then Sam didn’t notice a single thing because the Trickster just kept talking and talking until Sam was contemplating taping the guy’s mouth shut with multiple layers. Could that be considered a prank? Probably not.  
“If you don’t shut up right now I’m going to throw you out of this car right now!”  
“You need my help, Sammy-boy.”  
Sam wanted to punch in the Trickster. Sadly he was right. Alone against the Trickster wouldn’t be a good idea and for once he could use the help he got offered, even if it was from another Trickster…  
They arrived at the town in about fifteen minutes but for Sam it had felt like hours. Hours and hours of talking. Non-stop. He didn’t even want to think about it. At least the people in the town were helpful and he had the address of the motel in the matter of an hour.  
The room was empty. Nothing to be seen. Not even Dean’s things were in it.  
“Are you sure he was here?”  
“Definitely. There’s no beer left in the minibar.”  
“And now?”  
“We’ll look for him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that my update schedule is all over the place at the moment but college is a bitch. I promise that even now in these stressful times you will get a chapter per month at the very least. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one and thank you for all the kudos and comments!


	4. Wanted

Dean woke up in a pretty uncomfortable bed. He hadn’t expected that he would be comfortable though. The last thing he remembered was that he had been talking to Sammy when a giant snake had swallowed him. Then everything went black and he woke up on this bed in a… was he in some kind of imitation of a western town? Dean got up and walked over to the window, looking out. Damn, it looked realistic. The clothing of the people running around, the horses…  
“Oh shit. The Trickster.”  
Now it made sense. Apparently he was in some kind of trickster-illusion. Now he could scream out for the trickster and try to end this immediately. Could. But how often did he get to live out his fascination with that time period (that Sam teasingly called fetish)? Fuck it, he was here and he could enjoy it for a while.  
He looked around the room and checked in the wardrobe. Apparently the Trickster had provided him with era fitting clothes and weapons. How could he ever gank that Trickster after this? Supernatural psychopath or not, this was the most awesome thing he’s had in a while. Maybe he might just thank the Trickster before ganking him. Once he was appropriately dressed he walked down, realizing that he had slept in an Inn. As soon as he came down the music stopped.  
“That’s the outlaw!”  
The guy that had shouted drew his gun and Dean did the same. Outlaw? Dean grinned, absolutely excited. Whatever the Trickster wanted to tell him with this, because this Trickster definitely had a message, he would have problems getting it through to Dean because he was enjoying this way too much.  
A whole shoot out at the Inn later and Dean was on his way. He took the first horse that he found and it was a beautiful black thing that reminded him of his baby. If that was the Tricksters doing too then he might just have a stalker on his hand. He would find out where the Trickster was hiding but for now he and the black horse that was now officially named Baby made their way out of town.  
“Holy shit!”  
Dean stopped and ripped a flyer from the wall. His own face was staring back at him, awfully drawn but recognizable, with a big ‘WANTED’ over it.  
“Reward $200.000? Dude, I’m worth more than that.”  
Apparently his crimes included grave desecration, murder, arson… Dean took a wild guess and assumed that the Trickster had him as a hunter in this illusion too. That meant that the Trickster had obviously known that Dean was a hunter and after him. It might possibly mean that this wouldn’t end well for him.  
“Have you heard? Two towns over there’s a serial killer. Apparently he’s draining people of their blood and the sheriff has no idea who it could be.”  
The two ladies passed him while chatting and Dean looked after them. Victims drained dry. Did the Trickster seriously put a hunt in the illusion he was caught in while on a hunt? If that wasn’t kind of creative Dean would have told the Trickster to get a new occupation. Anyway, the clues seemed to least to a place two towns away, so that’s where he would go. He asked the ladies for the name of the town and was on his way. Every place he came across had those WANTED flyers of him hanging around, which was honestly kind of cool. He would’ve imagined himself more as the sheriff but apparently the Trickster was more into his real relationship with the law. Probably to make this harder for him.  
It was routine stuff. Questioning, listing suspects, and so on. Dean could do that stuff in his sleep. At the same time he had to think about why the Trickster was making him hunt inside that illusion. It didn’t make much sense. If he wanted him to hunt he might as well have made a vampire appear near the motel or somewhere else in that city. Not that he was complaining about the scenery but he didn’t understand the reason behind it. Maybe there was no reason behind it, maybe the Trickster just wanted to fuck with him and it was a complete accident that it was something Dean was excited about.  
“Hey, aren’t you that infamous outlaw?”  
Dean stiffened and looked at who said that. The sheriff. Maybe he could try to talk his way out of it.  
“Look, this isn’t how it seems, I’m not…”  
A revolver was drawn on both their ends. Dean knew that he was fast with a gun, no matter how ancient it was.  
“I’m not gonna hurt you, man, but I need to move on now.”  
“Like Hell.”  
Dean hadn’t wanted it to come to this but he had to. It wasn’t like this dude was real but he still felt bad when he dropped to the ground. He dragged him out of the sun so he wouldn’t get a heat stroke in addition to the hit to his head.  
Finding the vampire turned out to be easy. And cliché. The guy that was running around with an umbrella in the sun, wearing heavy clothes that covered most of him skin. The Trickster might as well have made him wear a sign with ‘cliché movie vampire’ on it. He had to make sure though, no matter how obvious this was. So he started trailing the vampire, which he noticed. It wasn’t Dean’s fault though. It had been the wind changing and carrying his scent right over to the vampire. The flash of fangs and fast movement erased the rest of the doubt.  
The feeling of being thrown against a wall would never stop being awful. That was something he couldn’t get used to. He played unconscious until the vampire was right in his face and with a quick swing up the vampire’s head was rolling. That was quick.  
Dean got up and dusted himself off. Suddenly he was surrounded by men pointing pistols at him. There were at least ten of them. Without the guns he might have made it out of there but right in that moment he could be shot if he so much as twitched.  
“Dean Winchester, you are sentenced to death. You will be hanged today on the town’s square.”  
Well shit. Dean would have liked to doubt that he could die but he had died often enough to another trickster to know that being in an illusion didn’t save anyone from death. Hopefully Sammy would find him alive and not hanged in his motel room…  
As they walked onto the town’s square Dean would have appreciated the historical accuracy, or at least accuracy to the movies, if he wasn’t being led to his death. Standing on the gallows, he looked over at the people who had gathered. Right, he had read something about execution being the old version of afternoon TV shows. These people had little other forms of entertainment and apparently watching a ‘criminal’ die could be entertainment. People always were crazy and always would be crazy.  
He tuned out a bit when the sheriff read all his crimes, only absently noting that the Trickster must have been in his mind because the list was very accurate. Instead of commenting on his crimes though, he just waited for the lever to be pulled. He was so focused on waiting for the sensation of falling that it took him a moment to notice that the sheriff has stopped talking, that the chatting of the people had died down.  
It still took another moment until he realized that they were frozen. The whole scene was frozen in time. None of them were moving.  
“Why?”  
Dean looked up to where the voice came from. It was a guy completely dressed in black, but not as heavy as the vampire. Light clothes but dressed for the time Dean was sent to, the time he had sent Dean to.  
“Trickster.”  
The only guy who wasn’t frozen in time had to be the one who wrote the script. Dean wouldn’t show the guy that he was impressed. The guy stepped closer and Dean stiffened.  
“Why are you doing this? I have seen your memories, Dean. You help them every day, save them from what kills them, and yet you are a hunted criminal, have been chased by the FBI. You made the wanted list, have countless people who hate you because they think you were the one who killed their family, their friends. Why do you continue to save people when it does nothing but hurt you?”  
“Look, Trickster…”  
“Trickster is just an archetype. There are many. Call me Mercurius.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it has been a while but I preferred really thinking this chapter out to a half-assed one.
> 
> Thank you for reading it so far and if you're still following the story, thank you for your patiance!


	5. Conversations

„Well, Mercurius, I don’t know what your game is but I don’t like it. And to answer your question, I’m not doing this for recognition.”  
The trickster seemed intrigued and stepped even closer. Dean stiffened in his bound position. He was sceptical of this guy but so far no one had died. That made it somewhat easier to talk to this trickster than the other one.  
“I see that. But to hunt these out of control beings while at the same time being hunted by humans must be exhausting.”  
“Sometimes.”  
“I would guess that saving others is not your only motivation.”  
Dean didn’t know what to reply to that. He needed some kind of comeback to it. No way he would let a Trickster have the last word about this. He took a deep breath.  
“Why else? I don’t really like hanging around with all those murderous things.”  
“No, but you like to hunt.”  
“Oh great, the next one who’s calling me a killer.”  
“In a way. You do like to hunt and kill but you also like saving others.”  
That was new. Especially for one of the things he hunted. Usually it was all about him being a killer and nothing about saving others, like he was some badly written character in a fanfiction to Chuck’s books.  
“I do not mean to insult you with that. Every hero is a villain in the eyes of someone and every saviour is someone’s doom.”  
“Ambivalent, huh?”  
“Exactly.”  
Dean had to laugh at that.  
“So you really are the psychopath of the supernatural world.”  
Mercurius seemed confused by that assertion. It was strange to see and it reminded him a little bit of Cas, only more lively and more comfortable with himself than the nerdy angel.  
“I am not. I do not lack emotional empathy. I just do not have to act on it.”  
“That’s not really reassuring, you know. You kidnapped me, after all.”  
“Would you have listened to me if I just talked to you on the street?”  
As much as Dean wanted to protest, Mercurius had a point. He was usually not the type to stand and talk with all the things he hunted. That was more Sam’s kind of gig.  
“I do not fault you for it.”  
This guy was getting more and more surprising. Dean would’ve been quite upset if someone came along and tried to kill him on the spot.  
“You’re kinda crazy.”  
“Dean, you are working in a field where stopping to talk could mean your death. Noone with a modicum of strategical thinking would just stop and talk with a potential enemy.”  
Now things got concerning. This trickster had to be in his head somehow because there was no way that he could know all that about Dean with such accuracy.  
“Mind keeping out of my head if you really wanna talk?”  
Not that he had much choice. He was in the tricksters illusion and he wouldn’t get out again for a while. Or never, depending on the mood of his captor.  
“I am not in your mind. I just realized that we do not think as differently as you might assume.”  
“If you’re serious about it then let’s talk. Can you just get me out of this uncomfortable situation? I’m not much a fan of being tied up.”  
He hadn’t even finished his sentence yet when their surroundings had changed and they were sitting in a saloon, a beer in front of Dean and Mercurius sitting next to him with a glass of wine. Dean stared at the glass of wine for a second before it hit him.  
“Mercurius! Of course! You’re one of the roman pagan gods, right?”  
“It took you this long to figure it out?”  
“Fuck you, I was on the gallows and they were gonna kill me. I think I’m allowed to need a moment, you asshole.”  
Mercurius actually laughed when Dean complained. It told Dean a lot about the Trickster because other beings would definitely be getting really angry now. This one didn’t really seem to have a problem with his ego.  
“You have a point.”  
Dean chuckled and took a drink from his beer. It was pretty good for trickster illusion beer. He had tasted worse stuff in places actually calling themselves diners.  
“Can’t believe that you’re a Trickster. You’re far too nice for that.”  
“Did you hear what I did?”  
“Yeah, and the assholes had something coming anyway. Also, you didn’t kill them. That’s a big thing, you know. Besides, we really got bigger problems now than corrupt politicians throwing up coins.”  
That seemed to interest the trickster. Apparently entities representing some abstract concept didn’t get the weekly supernatural news.  
“Bigger Problems?”  
“You didn’t notice? I thought for sure that heaven and hell in their panic alerted every fucking being somewhere. So, the thing is, my brother was an idiot and opened the cage of Lucifer. You know, the big guy downstairs who was locked away. Well, who we thought was locked away. Because apparently the cage is fucking empty. So now heaven and hell are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”  
“Seems like typical behaviour for them.”  
Mercurius smirked and Dean chuckled.  
“I’ll drink to that.”  
He raised his beer and was surprised how comfortable it was with Mercurius. At first the guy set him in one of his favourite times, then he stopped the whole thing before Dean could have been executed and then he sat down with Dean because he just wanted to talk. Also, he gave him beer. Noone who gives out free beer could be a bad guy. Dean chuckled to himself.  
“And you are planning to find Lucifer and kill him?”  
Dean shrugged.  
“Not like the guy will be eager to show himself. I mean, it just wouldn’t make sense to jump out at the first moment and be like ‘Yeah, I tricked you! Now come at me’. I think he’s smarter than that. But apparently I’ve got no idea about him, so whatever.”  
“Why do you think that?”  
Was he really complaining about his brother to a trickster? Well, hopefully none of what they were talking about would ever reach Sam.  
“Because apparently my brother is one of the guys who loves to blame Lucifer for everything bad that happens in the world. You know, I’ve got no idea if he’s right but I really think he isn’t. I mean, if I escaped being imprisoned and I wanted revenge I wouldn’t go around for millennia doing minor things. And you can’t convince me that all the shit people have been doing is the devil’s fault.”  
Okay, that had turned into a rant but Dean had been getting annoyed with Sam’s insistence that one fallen archangel was to blame for everything bad that happened.  
“I would agree with you. I have never heard someone say that before. Your experience seems to have made you quite wise.”  
Dean laughed at that.  
“You can’t be fucking serious! I’m just a guy running around and killing monsters that kill people. I’m not some guy on the mountain with a six foot beard and white hair.”  
“I do not think these hermits that humans see as wise really are wise. They are so removed from reality and the happenings of the present that they will never be able to answer the questions people have about real situations. Noone can be wise and at the same time be removed from the world.”  
“Dude, you’re the wise one apparently. That or you read way too much poetry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I admit this is not the most exciting chapter of this work but I promise there will be more suspense soon.
> 
> I hope you still enjoyed this chapter and I want to thank anyone who read it, who left kudos, and who commented.  
> You all let me enjoy my writing even more!


	6. Confession

„So you’re telling me that Dean is currently in come kind of fucking pocket dimension set up by your trickster colleague?“  
“Well, yes, kind of?”  
Sam wanted to throw the trickster into a rocket and shoot him into space. They had been looking around for hours until the trickster decided to tell him about that. Fucking hours. Why on earth had he decided to let the Trickster help him again?  
“And how long have you known that?”  
“Suspected it from the beginning.”  
“And you’re only telling me now?”  
“I wanted to be sure.”  
“Fine and how do we get there?”  
“We can’t.”  
“There has to be a way.”  
No way would he leave Dean in that pocket dimension. Who knew how much horrors that second trickster was putting dean through.   
“There’s only one way. If the trickster isn’t in the dimension himself we could find them and force them to free Dean. If the trickster is in there with him it’s nearly impossible.”  
“You just said nearly. So there is a way to get there.”  
The Trickster looked fed up with him and Sam asked himself why. He was getting fed up with the Trickster, not the other way around. That Trickster had no right to get fed up with him!  
“There is but it’s difficult and dangerous. Without meeting the trickster even once I might not be able to even find the right dimension, much less get into it.”  
“Well, we still have to try.”   
Sam would remain stubborn about this. He refused to give up on this, even if the trickster was with Dean in the pocket dimension. With a sigh he picked up his laptop and positioned it on his lap, checking if any news popped up. Nothing.  
“So the trickster hasn’t made the news ever since Dean vanished. That could mean that they’re in the dimension with Dean. Either that or they’re watching him stumble through whatever cruel stuff they set up.”  
“Or they might be sitting in a saloon, drinking alcohol, and chatting about life.”  
“Could you take this a bit more serious, please?”  
It came out way more aggressive than he meant to but all these jokes were getting incredibly annoying. His humour wasn’t that great when his brother’s life was on the line. Dean had been right, they never got good news and it just became worse and worse every single time. The whole Lucifer thing, everything that happened before that, and everything that happened after that. Sometimes he was surprised Dean was even hustling with their constant bad luck.   
“Why so serious, Moose? As long as the trickster is in the dimension with dean your brother is still alive. It’s not that bad-“  
Now that was the final straw. Not that bad? Had that Trickster any idea what they were going through right now? After all, that guy had done so far was pick on a few assholes why Dean and him had to deal with the big assholes, the assholes that really matters.   
“You have no idea what Dean and I have gone through. You’re just showing up with your tricks, have some fun, eat some sweets and move on. You pretend to be that big punisher but really you’re just focusing on the assholes doing small stuff because you’re afraid of punishing those higher up that did shit!”  
“If you’re talking about dear Lucy being freed-“  
Sam was pacing through Dean’s motel room that had become their meeting point. He stopped in front of the Trickster and glared down at him.   
“You mean Lucifer never being there in the first place?”  
“Come again?”  
Had Sam not been that angry he would have paid more attention to the shocked expression on the Trickster’s face and the fact that he called the devil ‘Lucy’. As it was he wasn’t in any state to think clearly and just snapped again.   
“Oh, now you’re acting uninformed? There’s no way you haven’t heard that Lucifer wasn’t in the cage. Heaven checked and he wasn’t even in that cage in the first place! Hasn’t that made the supernatural news yet?”  
That had to be the first time he had completely silenced the Trickster. Apparently Lucifer never having been in the cage in the first place really hadn’t made the news yet. Now it was out and the Trickster looked shaken. Seriously shaken. Now that was something new.   
“He was out there all this time?”   
“Exactly.”  
Now that it was out the Trickster didn’t seem so carefree anymore. On the contrary, it seemed like he was for once completely serious and seemed to even be a bit afraid. As if now it seemed even more dreadful than ever before. Suddenly the whole mood had changed. Even Sam’s anger was forgotten after this.   
“And what are you and your brother doing hunting tricksters when he’s running around?”  
“There’s nothing we can do. He’s been hiding all this time and well enough for neither heaven nor Hell to know where he was and what he was doing. Or should we just light some candles and say his name three times in front of the mirror?”  
The sarcasm was clear in that comment. Sam sat back down on Dean’s bed. He didn’t need a lecture from a trickster about how they could be doing more productive things. After all, he had never seen a trickster do a really productive thing. On a bigger scale at least.   
“Lucifer is going to come to you eventually, you know.”  
“Why would he?”  
“You’re his battle suit.”  
“I’m his what?”  
“His vessel. His meatsuit. He’s wearing you in the ring.”  
Thankfully Sam had sat down on the bed or he probably would have needed something to hold on to. There was no way the Trickster knew all of this.  
“And your brother… Well, he’s going to be Michael’s.”  
Now Sam understood why it seemed so much worse to the Trickster than he had realized at first. This was going to be the worst situation they had ever been in.   
“How do you even know that? How do you know what’s going to happen? Or what’s meant to happen? I mean, you don’t really have anything to do with heaven. How would you know about all of this?”  
The Trickster seemed hesitant to answer. Almost as if he hadn’t expected the conversation to go that way. There was something the Trickster wasn’t telling him yet and it was something incredibly important. For a moment Sam was dreading what the Trickster might say.   
“I know more about heaven’s shit than you could imagine. I’ve had problems with them from the beginning.”  
“Stop being so damn vague! You’re beating around the bush here. I know you tricksters aren’t the straight forward type but it’s getting on my nerves and if you want me to believe what you’re saying here then give me a reason to. I mean, I don’t think heaven is that interested in some old forgotten pagan god.”  
“Forgotten? Are you serious? I should-“  
“Let’s stay on topic here. You can threaten me with whatever you’re thinking about later. I’m really not in the mood to deal with any of this.”  
“Okay, okay. You got me there. I’m very familiar with these clowns. They’re a horror to be around. Probably the worst family ever.”  
“Family?”  
“Yep. Nice to meet you, my name is Gabriel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that one took a long time...
> 
> Sorry again for taking such a long break. I'll try my best to get into a regular uploading schedule again. 
> 
> Thank you for the patient few who still read and still wait. I appreciate you all!


	7. Teaming Up

„How long have we been talking now?“  
Dean was sure that a lot of time had passed by now. He had to get back to Sam soon. After all, Dean had vanished while they had been talking. It was just so nice to talk with Mercurius here.   
“I think it has been a few hours.”  
“Oh shit. I should definitely get back soon. Sammy is probably worrying like Hell right now. Can’t stay too long.”  
“Yes, of course, I do not want you to stay away from him for too long. I enjoyed talking to you.”  
“Same here, dude. You know what? Why don’t you tag along? We’ll just tell Sammy you’re another hunter that saved me from the trickster.”  
He wasn’t usually one for lying to his brother but he absolutely didn’t want to have a discussion with Sam and besides, Sam had lied to him too about Ruby and the demon blood stuff. At least his lie wouldn’t hurt anyone.   
“You think that would work?”  
“Yeah, we’ll just call you… Mark. Sounds similar enough to Mercurius, right?”  
“It does sound similar. Though I would need a last name too. What would you suggest?”  
“Huh, we gotta think about that. But it needs to be a believable one. Can’t imagine Sam believing us if you turned up with some strange Italian sounding name or something stupid like that.”  
“I will make sure to choose a normal sounding last name then.”   
The both of them grinned at each other and Dean couldn’t believe that he was getting along so well with an old pagan god.   
“Let’s go then.”   
Not even a moment later they were standing in front of Dean’s motel room.   
“Okay, remember not to let slip that you’re a pagan god.”  
Dean reached for the door when it flew open and he had to quickly pull his hand back or it would have been broken. Sam stood there in the door and after a moment hugged Dean.   
“How did you get out?”  
“Mark here got me out.”  
“Oh, I didn’t see you, sorry. Thanks for saving my brother.”  
“You look like you’re about to bolt. What’s going on?”  
“I found someone who’ll help me find Lucifer and get something to kill him with.”  
“What? How? Who?”  
“I’ll explain later. I’m following a lead right now. Let’s just meet at Bobby’s in a week.”  
And with that Sam was gone. Dean looked after him with a worried expression. Well, at least he had his own car because he definitely wouldn’t have given his brother his baby.   
“What the fuck?”  
“He seems eager.”  
“I think he just really wants to make up for being the one to ‘free’ Lucifer. Don’t know why though. If he was never in that cage then why would it be Sam’s fault? Or do you think the cage opening is still some kind of jumpstart to the apocalypse?”  
“I have to be honest, I do not care about heaven’s plans. They probably planned on it being the final occurrence to start the apocalypse but who really cares? I do hope that Lucifer never shows because then Michael would stand there, waiting for the final fight that never comes.”  
“If that happens I wanna have a picture of that. Him just standing there and waiting for Lucifer to turn up. You might actually get me to be a fan of Lucifer if that really happens.”  
They both were laughing at the thought. It seemed like Mercurius was as unimpressed with heaven as Dean was. No wonder it had been so easy for them to bond.   
“I’ll pack my stuff then and we’ll be moving on. You know, since Sammy is so busy trying to find Lucifer, how about we look for a hunt and have some fun with it?”  
“I like the idea.”   
They entered the motel room and Dean started packing his things. He hoped Mercurius didn’t judge him for the not so tidy state of his room but he had taken him away from the room. He had no right to judge just how much Dean had left lying around. He threw his bag over his shoulder.  
“By the way, we’re driving in my car. I don’t care if you can get us there sooner. We’re driving.”  
Mercurius seemed incredibly amused at his assertion. He didn’t seem to want to protest either. Dean grinned over at him and put his bag into the trunk.  
“Now get in. Not gonna stay here any longer since Sammy seems to be finished with his trickster and I’m gonna have you tagging along.”   
Dean, true to his word, pulled away from the motel and onto the open road as soon as Mercurius was in the car. He called Bobby, hoping he would have a case for them.   
“Dean, did Sam finally get you out of the trickster’s clutch?”  
“Hey Bobby. Nah, it was another hunter. Mark. He’s pretty new to the business apparently but pretty good.”  
It was pure luck that Dean managed to lie that seamlessly. Then again, Mercurius was new to hunter stuff because what he did before was definitely trickster stuff, so not that much of a lie.   
“No idea how that guy found you but at least you’re back safe. Sam not with you?”  
“Nah, he rambled something about having help finding Lucifer and ran off. I don’t know why he still feels guilty. Lucifer had never been in the damn cage anyway. The only thing this shit has done was make everyone aware that he was never in there anyway.”  
“I get what you mean but he still fell for Ruby’s shit and if he wants to make up for it you should let him.”  
“Not gonna stop him. I’m just worried and I still think he’s trying to make up way too much for stuff that hasn’t made much of a difference. Anyway, I’m looking for a hunt.”  
“Not gonna try and get that Trickster?”  
“Nope, the Trickster left the town. I’ll keep an eye out but until then I wanna do some more hunting.”  
“Makes sense. You’re in lucky, boy. I’ve found something that could be a vampire nest just a few hours north of you.”  
Dean looked over at Mercurius, putting his phone away from his ear for a moment. Vampires sounded nice but he wanted to make sure that his companion was up for it.   
“Vampires. Potentially.”  
“Sounds good.”  
“Alright, Bobby, tell me where to go.”  
He gestured to the map in the car and Mercurius took it up. Then he thanked Bobby and hung up.   
“I’m just going to assume that you know how to read a map.”  
“Of course I know how to read a map. I have seen you humans invent the map.”  
“Yeah, yeah, quit trying to show off. I just wanted to make sure.”  
Mercurius threw him a smirk and Dean rolled his eyes at him. Somehow he couldn’t help but like the guy. Dean felt comfortable with him despite him being a trickster. There was a comfortable silence between them, at least until Dean decided that he was hungry.   
He stopped at the next diner he found and sat down in the booth with Mercurius.   
“Did you ever run into vampires before?”  
“I have. It must have been a few centuries ago already but-“  
“-and I demand to speak to the manager. It’s completely unacceptable that you can’t make a special price for a mother with her child and-“  
Dean looked over at the ranting woman and the poor girl that was forced to be her waitress. He huffed annoyed. So much for eating something in peace. Then he saw it, that smirk on Mercurius’ face. It was the mischievous face of a trickster about to fuck shit up.   
There was probably more than enough chance to stop him. Dean just decided that he didn’t want to.


	8. Bonded

Of course with the other trickster Dean would have stopped him because his pranks had been much more violent. With Mercurius he didn’t have that worry. His calm attitude was proven right when instead of anything grand happening the woman just went suddenly silent. It wasn’t voluntary. Her mouth was still moving and she gestured widely. Mercurius went up to her.  
“Let me help you communicate, madam.”  
The woman seemed surprised but gestured immediately, probably wanting to continue her shouting match.  
“Oh, so you want to pay the whole price?”  
More angry gestures.  
“And you want to give this waiter a 50% tip? How generous of you!”  
Mercurius took her wallet and paid for her, the full price and the 50% tip. Then he gave the wallet back to the woman, who was gesturing angrily. He smiled at her as if she wasn’t gesturing several insults.  
“No need to thank me, madam. I am sure anyone would have helped such a generous person.”  
The woman was silently shouting at Mercurius and Dean didn’t know that much about lip reading but there were definitely some choice words there. She pointed to the notebook of the waitress, who quickly snatched it up.  
“Sorry, I’m only allowed to write orders in the notebook.”  
Dean watched as the woman ‘screamed’ some more before she decided that it was not worth in and stored out of the diner, driving away in an entirely too expensive car to make that much of a ruckus about getting a few dollars off a meal.  
Once the woman was out of sight Dean couldn’t hold back anymore. He started laughing. God, Sam would judge him so much for it but seriously, where was the harm?  
“How long is she going to be silent?”  
“Just two or three days, then she is back to screeching just fine.”  
It was actually kind of genius in a way, Dean had to admit that, because with how much she was shouting it only seemed like a natural consequence that she would lose her voice from it.  
“You’re kinda hilarious, you know.”  
“I am glad that you appreciate my sense of humour.”  
Dean just grinned at Mercurius and huffed.  
“You know, you’re just not what I expected from a trickster.”  
“What did you expect?”  
“We did meet a trickster before. He was a much more violent guy in comparison to you. I mean, that’s nothing.”  
“That sounds worrying.”  
“It kind of was. But hey, you don’t have to worry about that ‘cause you’re a completely different guy.”  
“Well, I did start my travels hating humanity with a passion.”  
“Dude, I’m a human and I definitely hate people sometimes. That’s just normal. I bet you don’t like all of the other tricksters either.”  
“That is true.”  
Dean grinned at Mercurius, giving him a knowing expression. Noone could even like everyone they knew. After that conversation both of them ate in silence. Within an hour they were on the road again with Dean humming along to music and Mercurius alternating between watching him and the scenery.  
The town that the possible vampire nest was in was incredibly small. Dean looked around. It was quiet. Too quiet for his taste. After all, it wasn’t that late. The sun hadn’t even set yet. Something wasn’t right here.  
“It would seem that most of the people in this town are vampires.”  
Dean groaned and leaned again his car, looking out at the street.  
“Should’ve asked Bobby for specifics. This could go incredibly wrong.”  
“You forget that I am a trickster, after all. I can take on a few vampires.”  
“I think a few is a bit of an understatement.”  
If it was that empty in the town right now Dean didn’t want to know how full the town would be once the sun would set. Without Mercurius he would probably have left the town and come back tomorrow because alone again a whole fucking town filled to the brim with vampires sounded like suicide by fang to him.  
“Guess that means we’ve got no motel to check in either. We’re gonna have to take down that vampire town in a speed run. “  
“Well, who would we be if we did not take a challenge?”  
“Stop being so damn motivating.”  
It was still strange to Dean that they understood each other so well. With Sam their perfect team-play had come from years of fighting together and going through the worst possible scenarios. Mercurius and he just seemed to fit together without even having to go through all that. They just seemed to work together like that.  
“I guess we should get ready then and make sure that none of these fanged things get me. At least you don’t have to worry about getting killed.”  
“I do have to worry about you getting killed though.”  
Dean rolled his eyes at Mercurius though he had a smile on his face. He didn’t usually like someone taking care of him. He could do that perfectly on his own, really. Somehow Mercurius managed to say it in a way that didn’t make Dean feel like he didn’t believe Dean could do it alone. With Mercurius it sounded so much more like he knew Dean could take care of himself but would still make sure nothing bad happened.  
Before Dean could tell Mercurius that he very well could take care of himself because well-meant or not he still had his pride, his phone rang.  
“Ah, Sammy, how’s it going?”  
“Not that good. We still haven’t found a trace of Lucifer.”  
“Who are you even looking with?”  
“Don’t tell me that I’m stupid for believing him but the trickster I was going after wasn’t really a trickster.”  
“What?”  
“I had trouble believing it too but I’m pretty sure he is legit. He wants to find Lucifer and end this just as much as we do.”  
“You mean as much as you do. I told you, Sammy, as long as he’s not doing anything it’s gonna be hard to find him.”  
“We have to try. Who knows what he’s doing right now.”  
“Might be sitting in the Caribbean and drinking Pina Colada out of a coconut.”  
“Dean!”  
“Sammy, think about it. He’s the devil. The apocalypse is apparently God’s plan – Cas’s words, not mine. Wouldn’t be going along with the whole apocalypse thing kinda discredit Lucifer as the great rebel? If I was Lucifer I’d do anything but play into the apocalypse and fuck with my old man’s plan as much as possible in the process.”  
“You can’t be sure about that!”  
“Of course not. I don’t know the guy. I’m just saying that the devil’s logic isn’t making much sense to me if he’s really doing what you think he’s doing.”  
“Sure, you go on speculating what the devil might and might not to while I go on and try to stop him.”  
“Great. I’m hunting vampires now. You know, because they actually turn up and do something.”  
“Ha ha, aren’t you funny. Anyway, I’ll stay in touch. See you.”  
“You too, Samantha.”  
Dean hung up with a sigh and looked at Mercurius. The trickster seemed to be looking at him in a way he couldn’t really describe. Maybe he was just excited for the vampire hunt, though Dean had no idea how a millennia old being could be that excited for a few vampires to gank. There were much more exciting hunts out there.  
“Whatcha looking at me like that for?”  
“I do not know. I just somehow feel understood for the first time.”  
“You’re speaking English. Of course I understand what you’re saying.”  
“You do not know how to deal with praise, do you?”  
“Maybe I just don’t like chick-flick moments.”  
“Or both.”  
“Smartass.”  
Just like that they were grinning at each other again. The sun was slowly setting over the town and Dean opened his trunk, grabbing his equipment. Then he turned to Mercurius.  
“Take whatever you want. It’s time to pull some fangs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who read, comment and/or leave kudos!
> 
> I will write a bit longer on Archetype until it has caught up to Kings Dethroned a bit but then there will be a new chapter for that too.


	9. Devil Hunt

If Sam was here right now he would kill him. Dean could safely say that. Of course they always got into dangerous situations but Sam would have killed him for even suggest hunting vampires in the middle of the night when they were the most active. So yes, Sam would definitely kill him right now because Mercurius and him just seemed to have no sense of making it easier on themselves. On the other hand Dean was having so much fun with it!  
It was far more dangerous and yet the most fun he had on a hunt in a while. Mercurius wasn’t judging him at all when he had a little bit too much fun with killing vampires. When he heard a sudden popping sound he ran over to Mercurius and froze.  
The trickster had apparently filled a balloon with dead man’s blood and made sure it looked like a living person and the vamp seemed to have perfectly fallen for it because next to Mercurius stood a frozen vampire with blood all over.  
Dean had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard when he cut the vampire’s head off.   
“Fuck. How do you expect me to focus on shit when you’re pulling stunts like that?”  
Mercurius just smirked at him and Dean had the feeling that he looked entirely too pleased by how much he had made Dean laugh. He nudged Mercurius a bit.   
“Any other ideas for vampire traps?”  
“Countless.”  
And just like that the hunt became unlike any other Dean had ever had. They weren’t going after the vampires anymore, they laid traps and let the vampires come to them. Dean had no idea how absolutely hilarious the sight of a vampire hanging in the air by his feet was and though Dean would never admit it out loud it looked so absolutely badass when Mercurius just ripped off the head of the vampire that escaped a trap and came at Dean.   
It came as no surprise to Dean when they ended up in the motel room, shedding clothes and falling onto the bed.   
That night he lost any right to judge Sam about his affair with Ruby. Well, at least Mercurius wasn’t an evil bitch. Still, end of judgement for affairs with non-humans.   
He woke up to his phone ringing.  
“Who’s there?”  
“Now someone’s a little grumpy.”  
“Everyone would be grumpy if you woke them up.”  
“Why’re sleeping that long. It’s noon, ya idjit.”  
Dean was awake in a moment. He sat up, honestly embarrassed.  
“Give me a break, Bobby. I’ve been hunting vampires the whole night.”  
“You’ve been hunting vampires at night? Are you stupid?”  
Oops. Right, normal hunters don’t do that. Typical for him that he wouldn’t even be normal for a hunter.   
“Don’t worry about it. Everything went perfectly fine and we got rid of all the vampires.”  
“What it that guy’s idea?”  
“Nope, it was mine. Let’s skip the whole thing about me being an irresponsible idiot and get to why you’re calling me.”  
“Sam said he has two leads about where Lucifer could be and wants you to check out one.”  
“And why’s he not calling me himself?”  
“He says you’re kinda unwilling to help him find Lucifer.”  
“Never said that. I just think he’s gonna be hard to find and that he’s not really our biggest problem right now since he doesn’t seem to be doing anything.”  
“He’s the devil.”  
“Yeah, the devil who could be anywhere across the fucking globe. And there’s still no sign that the guy is planning on doing the whole apocalypse business.”  
“Wanna wait until it’s too late?”  
“I said I would help.”  
“Great. Now I’ll send you the coordinates Sam has gotten and you’ll go there.”  
“Aye aye, captain.”  
“Idjit.”  
Bobby had hung up a moment later and Dean let himself fall back on the bed. Sam was starting a whole crusade over his bad conscience. It was honestly annoying.   
“Family trouble?”  
Dean turned to the entirely too amused trickster and shoved his shoulder playfully.   
“Don’t look like that. I’m the one who’s gonna get some coordinates to go on a hunt for the devil.”  
“I never said I would leave you alone in this.”  
“Oh yes, I’m sure you’re just dying to go on a hunt for the devil. I mean, I don’t even want to and I’m kinda forced to.”  
“I would bet that we will have a lot of fun.”  
“You’re a confident little shit, aren’t you?”  
He had no idea how Mercurius just managed to motivate him like that and he had no idea why he had no problem following Dean on the forced chase for the devil.   
“Always.”  
“Yeah, yeah, you be confident on the bed. I’ll go take a shower.”  
“And what if I want to join you in the shower?”  
They didn’t leave the motel until at least an hour later. At least there was no need to check out since the owner had lost his head. Dean was humming along to the music, regularly punching Mercurius’ shoulder when he fucked with him by changing the music to something else. Sometimes Mercurius caught him humming along to the music he changed it too.   
“You are a far more diverse person than they give you credit for.”  
“Who?”  
“Heaven. We all know the prophecy. The whole spleen about you being Michael’s vessel and being the perfect fit. You are not. You are far too diverse a person for that.”  
“Enough sweet talking. Honestly though- Wait what? What do you mean, vessel? You mean like Cas is wearing Jimmy? That’s what they meant with ‘the righteous man who is destined to stop the apocalypse’?”  
“Heaven is perfect in twisting words.”  
“Those bastards seriously tried to convince me to do anything that heaven says just so Michael can jump my bones! What the hell?”  
If Cas knew about this… If Cas knew… Dean gripped the steering wheel tighter. If Cas knew about this then he might not even really be a friend. He may just work for heaven and try to make Dean comply with whatever they wanted.   
“Dean?”  
“Sorry, I just… It’s Cas. He’s an angel I know. I’m just asking myself if he’s really a friend.”  
“You will find out. Just be cautious. Maybe he does care.”  
“I hope so. Another thing, does that mean Lucifer will take Sam?”  
That was a scary though and it might get him to help Sam on his search. He would not let anyone take Sam from him. Maybe that was why Sam had been in such a hurry to get away from him, because he knew that Lucifer would come to him.  
“No.”  
“What?”  
Mercurius almost looked like he had talked too much and Dean wondered for a moment what was going on but he was quick to speak again.  
“Lucifer does not need a vessel. He could take Sam but there is no reason to.”  
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”  
“Technically archangels are powerful enough to make their vessels themselves. They are not allowed to. Creation is only allowed to god himself.”  
“And Lucifer doesn’t give a shit about what he’s allowed to do so he made himself a vessel.”  
“Exactly.”  
“How do you know that much about him?”  
“Well, he was the centre of the greatest fallout in the history of this green earth. I do not think anyone has missed the story.”  
“Noone knew that he wasn’t even in the cage. I doubt they know that he’d made himself a vessel.”  
Dean pulled over on the side of the street, stopping the car and looking sternly at Mercurius.  
“What aren’t you telling me?”  
“Well…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I should finally be caught up with Archetype so you can expect a Chapter on Kings Dethroned next.
> 
> Thank you all for reading and special thanks to Eagles_Magpies_and_Crows and IEatMemesForBreakfast for the lovely comments that always make my day!
> 
> By the way, if any of you are asking yourself why I don't write smut, it's because I'm incredibly bad at it and because I want to keep the story readable even for non-Ducifer shippers. I might try myself at writing it for this story but if I do it will be in a separate one shot. I don't know if any of you are interested though.


	10. Tricksters of a Prank

„So let me get this straight. You’re Lucifer. You managed to escape being locked in the cage and hid as a pagan god, not knowing that the apocalypse was even starting until heaven and hell freaked out.”  
“That is correct.”  
“And you’re not trying to end the world.”  
“I have grown rather fond of it.”  
“You’re also not gonna be jumping my brother’s bones.”  
“I have someone else’s bones that I would like to jump.”  
Dean actually laughed at that. He had no idea why but he couldn’t bring himself to be afraid of Merc- Lucifer. It just didn’t seem like he was this looming threat to be feared. He tried to imagine it but all he was coming up with was the fun they were having together.   
“How do I know that you’re telling the truth?”  
“You put it best yourself. What kind of rebel would I be if I played along with what my father wants to happen?”  
“So that’s what you meant when you said that I understand you… Holy fucking shit.”  
All this would take a while to sink in. Dean had sat in a bar with the devil, talked to the devil about the devil. He had hunted with the devil. He had…  
“Well, I’m going to Hell. Again.”  
“At least it will not be lonely. Wait, again?”  
“Yeah, sold my soul to save my brother and got dragged out after I broke the first seal because heaven deemed it the right time.”  
Lucifer looked at him like he was already pondering a way to make them pay.   
“They really deserve to be taught a lesson.”  
“Going by how you’ve made Heaven and Hell lose their shit I’d say you’ve been doing pretty well at that. Not that they’ll ever learn from it.”  
“Probably not, no.”  
Dean was surprised with himself. He had just found out that Mercurius was Lucifer. Shouldn’t he be calling Sam and telling him that he found Lucifer? Shouldn’t he get away as fast from him as possible? The thing was, Dean had felt understood from the moment he had first met him as Mercurius. Maybe he was naïve in this case but he kind of wanted to give Lucifer a chance.  
“You know, if you’re serious about not doing the whole not starting the apocalypse thing and not trying to take Sam then I think I can deal with it.”  
Lucifer honestly seemed surprised at that. Dean guessed that he had expected Dean to push him away too. Like his family. He felt a lot of sympathy for Lucifer in that moment. It really impressed him that Lucifer was not as resentful as others expected. Then again, he was pretty set on getting some revenge at least. Dean could get behind that though. After all, his family left him to rot in a cage and he only made it out by himself.   
“You will not tell them?”  
“Heaven? I’m not an idiot. Sam? Maybe once the whole apocalypse thing is over. I don’t need the drama right now.”  
“I see. I want to thank you.”  
“No need because if I see any sign that you’re trying to get to that apocalypse stuff or try to wear Sam all bets are off.”  
“That will not happen.”  
“Then I’ve got no reason to tell the guys that try to end the world where you are. And I don’t wanna have Sammy get a heart attack.”  
Dean smiled a bit at Lucifer. It was absolutely crazy but, to be honest, their life had never been anything close to normal. Why not include a roadtrip with the devil? He chuckled to himself as he started the car again.   
“We’re not gonna tell anyone that you’re Lucifer. If anyone else finds out then I’ll be just as surprised as everyone else, got it?”  
He’d pretend to be at least. Because there were some topics like knowingly hanging out with the devil that would be really damn hard to explain to anyone.   
“I expect it from you. It would raise far too many questions if you did not.”  
“You’re kinda scaring with how much you get it.”  
“I would say that we have just a lot in common. You did understand me, after all.”  
And that was just it, wasn’t it? Dean understood just like Lucifer did. Fuck all those people who write about how exciting it was for someone to be a mystery to you. Nothing beats understanding someone and having someone understand you in a way that seemed like telepathy. Someone who’s insanity works far too well with your own.  
“Okay, you can’t tell me that you haven’t read my thoughts this time.”  
Lucifer, who was chuckling next to him, raised his hands.  
“Well, this time you caught me. I did. I quite like it though. It seems like we are suffering from a similar brand of insanity.”  
“You’re implying that we’re suffering?”  
The reply made Lucifer laugh again and Dean relaxed fully. It reminded him at the comment he had made after the people in the pocket dimension nearly hanged him. Lucifer had laughed back then too, instead of getting angry at his insult.   
“Not at all.”  
“By the way, how did the whole thing go down anyway? I’m pretty sure heaven doesn’t tell the whole story.”  
“Well, it was not as wrong as you might expect. I rebelled, fought, stood proud. Then my father decided to make himself beings to worship him. I decided to ruin it for him. That is one of the misconceptions. I put the tree and the snake in the garden.”  
“You’re seriously telling me free will exists because you wanted to get back at your dad?”  
“Yes. It was a lucky side effect.”  
Dean tried not to laugh. He had imagined heaven to fake the story but to say that God was so generous to grant them free will when it was Lucifer getting back at his father? That was far too hilarious.  
“You know, you didn’t so it intentionally but you would’ve still deserved a thanks.”  
“I do not ask for people to thank me. I did it out of resentment for my father, not to help humanity.”  
“It’s still thanks to you that I don’t have to sit there all day and praise some guy up in the clouds. It was basically the biggest butterfly effect ever.”  
“You are right. Although I had no idea what consequences it would have for humans and I really did not care but I cannot say that I dislike the outcome, both from the perspective of revenge and from what became of humanity.”  
“And after that stunt god locked you up, or tried to lock you up, right?”  
“Exactly. I avoided the cage and hid until now. I had not expected to meet a fellow rebel.”  
“I’m not really a rebel. I basically did what my father told me to until he told me that I might have to kill Sam.”  
“Do not believe that I was a rebel from the beginning. I followed my fathers every word until I realized that he does not act like a father at all.”  
There was no way to argue with that. What would Sam say if Dean told him that he was apparently very similar to the devil? It was kind of ridiculous, really. The best thing was though that it totally went against heaven’s plans. Dean smirked slightly. Lucifer didn’t need to read his mind to know that smirk. He saw it every time he looked into a mirror.  
“So, will you help me to, as you aptly put it, ‘fuck with my father’s plans’?”  
“Oh Hell yes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I tried to make a Trickster version of 'birds of a feather'. 
> 
> As always thank you so much to all the people who read and/or leave kudos/comments!


	11. Fakes

“Why are you laughing?”  
“Sammy sent me the coordinates to a town where Lucifer might be. I definitely know that you’re not there but when we go there to ‘check’ you’ll definitely be there.”  
Now Lucifer was laughing too. It was such a hilariously strange situation and it brought some levity into the rather tense situation of the apocalypse. On the other hand, they didn’t seem to take it that seriously anyway.   
“And will you tell him that you found the devil?”  
“I could say that I’ve found traces of the devil and then we move on and when he gets there the best thing he’s gonna find is the pie in the diner.”  
Dean kind of felt a bit bad for pranking Sam like that but he had been the one to insist on his search for Lucifer. It was only fair if Dean got to fuck with him for a bit at least. Only for a while. Oh, Lucifer was a bad influence on him already. Dean chuckled to himself at the thought.   
“Okay, let’s talk about how we’re gonna fuck with the apocalypse.”  
“Well, first of all we need do ensure that Michael will not be able to take you as his vessel.”  
“I like the idea. How do we do that though?”  
“It involves a lot of blasphemy.”  
“Count me in!”  
It wasn’t like he had ever been a believer anyway. Also, it sounded like it would be lots of fun. Another thing occurred to Dean.   
“Does that mean we could cleanse Sammy to ensure that you can’t take him?”  
Lucifer laughed.  
“In theory, yes, but remember that Sam is just as good a vessel as you. That means by cleansing him he becomes eligible to Michael.”  
“That’s a big giant no then.”  
Dean could admit to himself that he trusted Lucifer far more than he trusted Michael. Heaven in general had acted way shadier than Lucifer ever did, even as Mercurius. Lucifer hadn’t really acted shady as Mercurius either. Dean wouldn’t call the stint in the pocket dimension as shady. It was more like a forced talk with awesome background.   
“You’re very creative, aren’t you?”  
“What brought on that question?”  
“Just thought of our talk in the wild west and your pranks.”  
“I appreciate the compliment.”  
Something changed when they got close to the coordinates. The road was abandoned and when Dean stopped for gas there were demons. Usually he would get away as fast as possible but with Lucifer in the car there was no way that he would get hurt.   
“Any idea why the area’s swarming with demons?”  
“Not yet. Whatever the place your brother sent us to is though, there is something going on there.”  
“Are the demons gonna know it’s you who’s coming?”  
“Of course not. It would take another archangel to see through my disguise.”  
“Great. Let’s see what’s going on.”  
Further down the road demons started following them. Dean sped up the car and drifted around the corner. Lucifer didn’t let any emotion show but Dean saw out of the corner of his eye that he was gripping the seat. Apparently he had just managed to have the devil nervous. That counted as an accomplishment.   
The town looked like a military base when they arrive there. Well, at the gates. Apparently the town wasn’t easy to get into. At least they had enough holy water to get the demons away.   
“You don’t react to holy water, right?”  
“No, do not worry. It does no harm at all.”  
Dean nodded and got out of the car. He talked to the people. They announced that the apocalypse was happening while he explained that he was a hunter. Also, that he was very aware that the apocalypse was going on right now.   
Finally they were let inside the town that called itself Blue Earth. It probably normally looked like any other town. Not when Dean parked the car in front of the church though. It looked more like they were preparing for a big war. At least that shit wasn’t going to happen.   
“The Whore.”  
“Dude, I know you’re not the biggest fan of your dad’s homemade cult but that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”  
It looked like Lucifer had wanted to explain immediately but it ended up being drowned in a laugh. They got some strange looks but at least they were talking quietly enough that they hadn’t heard that one.   
“That is not what I meant. The Whore is a demon of the apocalypse. I would bet that she is pretending to be a prophet at the moment and those demons we met earlier are hers.”  
Just a moment after Lucifer finished that sentence they entered the church and were greeted by Pastor Gideon and his daughter Leah, the prophet. Well, the fake prophet. He couldn’t wait to tell Sam the kind of crazy they found.   
“And what are we gonna do about her?”  
“We-“  
“Leah is having a vision!”  
Dean turned to the front of the church where Pastor Gideon stood with his daughter, who announced that she knew where the demons set up camp.  
“Of course she knows.” Dean murmured to Lucifer with a huff.   
It seemed like the whore was looking at him when he said that. At least he could officially call her that. He was immediately up for it when Leah asked for volunteers because there was no way he’d let these guys walk into the demon infested place on their own. Lucifer was the next the volunteer.   
The hideout of the demons was an old house with in the ugliest colours anyone could get. Not that Dean had much time to look at those colours. Lucifer seemed ready to just wipe the demons out but Dean put a gun into his hands instead.  
“No. If they find out it’s you and that you’re not going by plan then the Whore is gonna be gone before we can kill her.”  
Lucifer relented but he absolutely wasn’t happy about it. Dean could clearly see that.   
He ended up regretting that he had told Lucifer that when they found the body of Dylan, the youngest of the guys, by their cars. His parents waited back at the town and now they would have to bring them the body of their son. Dean felt his stomach clench. It was his fault.  
“It was not.”  
“I told you not to use your powers. You could’ve prevented this.”  
“Yes, and the Whore would have noticed and found another town to terrorize. It is tragic but she will only become worse.”  
Lucifer made it damn near impossible for Dean to blame himself. Dylan’s parents didn’t have the same problem. They immediately went to blaming the two newcomers because their son died when they were with them the first time.   
Leah’s vision saved Dean from the very vicious mother. It didn’t make things better though.  
“Are you fucking kidding me? No alcohol, no sex outside marriage, a curfew, cutting themselves off from the outside world… I didn’t think we’d really end up in a cult town.”  
“Well, it does not draw out the apocalypse but it surely makes the time until the apocalypse feel like centuries.”  
Dean nudged Lucifer playfully, a slight grin on his face. They left the church to get themselves a room.   
“And how do we get rid of her now?”  
“We need the branch of a cypress tree and she needs to be killed by a true servant of heaven.”  
“You can’t just make her explode?”  
“I could but then I would ‘out’ myself to all of heaven and Hell.”  
Dean sighed. Just his luck.   
“Okay, and where do we get a servant of heaven?”  
“I would have suggested you as my brother’s vessel but you are currently with me and you will not let Michael take you as his vessel. Our only choice is Pastor Gideon.”  
“He’s never gonna kill his daughter, meaning we gotta trick him into killing his daughter. Fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks to all those people reading, leaving kudos, and/or commenting!


	12. Sinners

Dean leaned back against the bed. The hotel owners had been quick to enact the no alcohol rule and now the minibar was empty when he really wanted a beer because he had come up empty. He had no idea how they would get the pastor to kill his daughter.   
“He will start to doubt her eventually.”  
“Yeah, wanna wait that out until the town goes down as another cult suicide? We don’t have time for that.”  
Lucifer fell silent again at that. Dean was right. If they didn’t get rid of the Whore soon this town was doomed. They were trying to fuck with the apocalypse, not watch it play out.   
“You know, I might go visit Paul.”  
“Who is Paul?”  
“The bartender. The guy was with us at the demon camp. You know, black hair, rough looking guy.”  
“I remember. Maybe if we ask him he might give you some alcohol.”  
“Now you get it!”  
Dean got off the bed and went to the bar with Lucifer. They greeted Paul and sat down.  
“Quiet here today.”  
“Yeah, thanks to the ban. Leah really ruined the business for me.”  
“I can see that.”  
The bar was empty except for Paul and the two of them.   
“Any chance you’d make an exception for paying customers?”  
“Sure, sit right down.”  
He poured both Dean and Lucifer a drink and they thanked him. The silence between them was comfortable until Paul spoke up.   
“What about you two? Are you believers?”  
Dean went to answer but Lucifer was quicker.   
“It would depend on your definition of a believer. We believe that god exists. We don’t believe that he cares about anyone here.”  
“That pretty much sums it up.”  
There was a short moment of silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable. They didn’t have to ask Paul. A believer would be in his apartment, sitting in his chair and rereading the bible for the millionth time. Or, as it turned out, going around looking for sinners to confront, since they had barely sat at the bar for more than ten minutes when the religious people barged in without any warning at all. Dean took a deep breath. What the hell was going on with them now? The Whore was playing them perfectly, it seemed. They started running accusations about Paul and Dean had to get between him and the other guy that Dean had forgotten the name of but who was apparently Paul’s childhood friend. He pushed the guy back and a fight started that Pastor Gideon in between. It was abruptly ended when a shot sounded through the bar.   
Dean turned and saw Paul standing there in absolute shock. Across from him stood Jane with a gun in her hand that had definitely been aimed for Paul. The shot would have hit him too if it wasn’t for the fact that a hand had grabbed her wrist and forced her to miss. One of Paul’s alcohol bottles was shot and the liquid went everywhere but Paul didn’t seem to care. Instead he stared at Lucifer, who was holding Jane’s wrist and had just saved Paul’s life.   
“What do you think you are doing?”  
It was a great question in Dean’s opinion and Pastor Gideon looked like he had wanted to ask the same thing as Lucifer.   
“I won’t let him ruin my chance to see my son again.”  
“With all due respect, killing someone will ensure that you do not see your son again.”  
Jane flinched at Lucifer’s serious reply. She stepped back and pointed her gun at Lucifer. Dean stepped closer.  
“Don’t you dare-“  
“Don’t come closer! Leah said we need to get rid of the sinners for heaven to accept us and for us to survive the apocalypse! You won’t get in the way of that!”  
Now of course Dean knew that Lucifer wouldn’t die from a gunshot but the problem was that someone getting shot and not dying of that shit would bring up a lot of questions. Pastor Gideon spoke up.  
“Think about it, Jane. The only thing Mark did was to save Paul’s life. Even if you think Paul is a sinner, Mark is not. What do you think would happen if you shot an innocent man?”  
Dean wouldn’t really call Lucifer an innocent man. Also, he had forgotten for a moment that they decided to use the name Mark for Lucifer’s hunter identity. It would’ve been quite embarrassing if he got hurt and Dean shouted his real name.   
“They are all sinners! They were drinking here! You heard what the angels said. We need to get rid of the sinners.”  
That woman definitely needed therapy. Lots of therapy. Dean wanted to flee that town right now in that very moment but they couldn’t let the Whore keep running around.   
“I would advise you to drop the matter because I will not let you kill Paul.”  
And that, dear Sammy, Dean thought to himself, is the being you accused of being the cause of all evil in the world.   
Lucifer even went so far as to move until he was in between Jane and Paul. The other guy tried to step in to support Jane but Dean was in front of him in a moment.   
“If you don’t wanna be beaten up, asshole, you’re gonna back up and leave the bar.”  
“Get out of my way, you-“  
“Enough. Let’s consult with Leah. Then we can come back.”  
It was probably Pastor Gideon’s last resort. The people weren’t listening to him anything he was saying anymore. Only his ‘daughter’ was important to them anymore. They proved him right by stepping back and walking towards the door.   
“This isn’t over, Paul.”  
With those parting words they left. Pastor Gideon turned and gave them a grateful look which Dean answered with a nod.   
“You guys just saved my ass.”  
It seemed like Paul had recovered from his shock enough to talk. He poured them all a drink. Dean took it with a thanks. Lucifer sat down at the bar again, inspecting his drink instead of drinking it.   
“You know, I’ve spent my whole life in this town. We all grew up together. We were friends once. I can’t believe they just nearly killed me.”  
“Religion, man, can drive people crazy.”  
“I’ll drink to that, Dean. Drinks are on me, by the way.”  
“Thanks man.”  
“Nah, I’ve got to thank you.”  
Dean raised his glass and took a sip. He looked at Lucifer, who was still studying his glass, glaring at it like it had just insulted his outfit.   
“Penny for your thoughts?”  
Lucifer looked up, seeming almost like he had forgotten for a moment that Dean and Paul were there.   
“I could not help but ask myself how they could abandon all reason like that.”  
“Passion. My parents always said something about passion becoming obsession, or something like that.”  
It seemed like Lucifer was considering Paul’s words. He played with his glass a bit. Dean thought it was an incredibly human thing to do.  
“It does not appear possible to me that someone could reach such a high level of passion.”  
“Didn’t get around much, huh?”  
“I did. I just never encountered anything that would invoke such passion.”  
“Believe me, there’s always something. You just don’t know it yet.”  
The expression on Lucifer’s face at Paul’s comments was honestly hilarious. He looked like he had bitten into a green lemon. Dean would’ve liked to listen to Lucifer and Paul talk for a while longer but he decided to interrupt them.   
“We should go back to the motel room and make a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks to all of you!


	13. Misstep

„Okay, we’ve got the cypress stake. Now we just need to find a way to get Pastor Gideon to kill his daughter. I mean, she’s getting more extreme.”  
Dean was pacing the motel room. It sounded easy in theory but he was sure that Pastor Gideon wouldn’t manage it. He couldn’t fault him for it. No matter what monster it was, it was still wearing his daughter’s face.   
“It’s fucking frustrating.”  
“I would agree with that.”  
“Thanks, but that’s not gonna help us any.”  
Lucifer nodded. Dean was sure he was just as occupied with trying to find a solution. After a bit he got an idea. He didn’t really like his idea but he didn’t know what else to do.   
“You know, we’ve seen in the bar with Paul that they’ve got a lot of tension right now. I don’t think we’re gonna have to do much to make chaos break out. How do you manage chaos though?”  
“Let that be my concern.”  
The smirk on Lucifer’s face should probably be worrying but Dean was actually quite relieved to see it. For others it might look dangerous but it told Dean that Lucifer had an idea, which in turn meant that they would be able to manage it.   
After putting a plan together that also had a plan B they went to the church where Leah was talking to them. They were rounding up people and locking them up. Dean shouldn’t have been shocked but he was. They were even rounding up kids! Fucking kids! Which might just explain his following outburst.  
“What the Hell do you think you’re doing?”  
Of course for ‘Leah’ that outed Dean as a sinner. That hadn’t been his plans for letting the tension escalate. Now he had to deal with everyone but Pastor Gideon and Paul going at him. Paul wasn’t even there and Dean hoped that he had packed his stuff and got out of the town as fast as possible. Dean would not be able to talk to Pastor Gideon that way. The whole church fell into chaos and people were trying to detain Dean, probably to lock him in with the other sinners.   
He played along so Lucifer would have the chance to talk to Pastor Gideon. Dean was surrounded and he had to kick and punch his way out of every grip. If he didn’t watch out he would lose the cypress stake. Thankfully Lucifer had brought two of them.   
“Get the fuck on with it!”  
It wasn’t the best thing to draw attention to Lucifer talking to Pastor Gideon but it was getting harder and harder to keep the people away from him. Lucifer definitely wasn’t happy about having attention on himself again but Dean managed to draw it back to himself by kicking one of the men from behind. Pastor Gideon got a stake into his hand when Leah approached them.   
“Daddy, please don’t do it. They’re lying to you. They don’t want you to go to heaven.”  
Dean would have never thought that he would see the perfect representation of crocodile tears. The Whore played the devastated daughter and while Pastor Gideon had of course seen her vicious side he hesitated. Honestly, like every father would, except for Dean’s and definitely Lucifer’s.   
While Lucifer tried to handle this without exposing himself to the whore Dean broke free of the crowd surrounding him and gestured for them to switch. Lucifer moved to hold off the crowd while Dean focused on the Whore.  
“Hey! I’m over here!”  
He intentionally waved the stake at her and she charged at him with a speed that even a loving father would recognize as inhuman. Now Dean had one problem. He couldn’t kill her. It was idiotic. Servant of heaven was so vague that… It dawned on Dean. He dodged the whore quickly and stuck the stake to the altar. She came at him again and this time he kicked the rug, making it bunch up. The Whole fell right against the altar, right onto the stake. Dean held his breath for a moment until he finally saw the flashing. It was accompanied by smoke and the Whore dropped dead.   
The whole room became completely quiet. All the people were staring at him in shock. Their prophet was dead on the ground while Dean just had to brush off some dust. Lucifer was the one who eventually spoke up despite being obviously quite surprised himself.   
“How did you kill her?”  
“I didn’t. I put the stake to the altar, so it was technically the altar that killed her.”  
Slowly Lucifer’s expression went from surprised to impressed.  
“And the altar is made specifically to be used in a church, for the sole purpose of serving in masses dedicated to god. A true servant of god. Made for it, actually. You killed the Whore on a technicality.”  
They both started laughing. It was so incredibly surreal. The whore wasn’t killed through some deliberate plan but by Dean using heaven’s affinity for vague formulations.   
“You would make an incredible trickster.”  
Dean bowed playfully.   
“Now let’s get the Hell out of here.”  
Lucifer nodded. They should hurry up before the town’s people got out of their shock and questioning what the fuck just happened. Dean was very tempted to go to Pastor Gideon and check up on him but it would be better if they just left. He wouldn’t know how to console him anyway.   
Instead he gave him a sympathetic look and as they passed him on their way towards the door. He was looking forward to get to a normal town and take a long hot shower while not having to worry about cult like people that were one bad moment away from shooting each other.   
“It’s your fault that we won’t go to heaven.”  
Dean sighed at the comment and turned around when a punch hit him in the stomach. No, not a punch. It felt similar at first but it was deeper. The pain went all the way through to his back. A shot. He looked down to see the red slowly soaking through his shirt.   
“What the Hell?”  
“Hell is where you’re going!”  
A shot hit Dean’s shoulder. Dean had met many people who didn’t understand their work and blamed them but he definitely hadn’t thought that they’d shoot him, just like that. He couldn’t even ask for Lucifer to help because his consciousness was fading but he had the distinct feeling that the room was getting colder. No matter how much he tried to keep himself upright it only took the third shot hitting his leg for him to fall and black out.   
Pastor Gideon had noticed the decrease in temperature too, enough that he started seeing his own breath. He had no idea where it came from until he spotted Mark. The man was quiet but his eyes had inexplicably started glowing red and the very human features suddenly seemed emotionless. Well, what one could call emotionless because despite the cold expression Pastor Gideon got the impression of rage beyond what he could imagine. Something was wrong.  
“Run!”  
He had barely shouted the word when the person who shot first burst into flames. Literally. Not the usual flames though. They burned cold. Pastor Gideon had never seen something like that before. It wasn’t spontaneous combustion. After everything that happened Pastor Gideon was inclined to believe his eyes when it almost seemed like the flames intentionally caused the most pain possible. The three people who shot at Dean were screaming and dying in different ways. No finesse, no trickery. All that happened was Mark somehow without touching any of them wiping the whole church. Pastor Gideon was frozen with fear. He wanted to run, to hide, to get on his knees and pray for anyone who might be willing to listen to save him but neither his mind nor his limbs were listening to him.   
“Pastor Gideon.”  
Marks voice had seemed quite friendly once. There was nothing left of that. It sent a shiver down his spine. That was how prey animals had to feel with a predator in front of them. It took him four or five tries to get out the word.  
“Yes?”  
“Take the people who are locked up in the backroom and leave.”  
He didn’t need to be told twice. Without a second thought he ran to the backdoor and quickly rushed the people outside. Usually he would have tried to talk Mark down but it didn’t need a psychic to know that it would be no use.   
They were barely outside when the whole church went up in flames. Only one figure walked out. It was Mark, carrying an unconscious Dean in his arms. The fire in the background almost seemed to form wings that complimented Mark’s appearance, spreading out as if in celebration of revenge. One moment later they were both gone. Pastor Gideon would remember the scene for the rest of his life and the one word that came to his mind when he saw it.  
Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that wasn't the order I had planned to post my chapters in but please enjoy another chapter of Archetype. I promise the next chapter of Kings Dethroned will come soon too.


	14. War

Dean woke up with his cheek pressed against a soft surface. He was aching all over like he had just slept in the most uncomfortable position ever. When he opened his eyes he noticed that he was on the backseat of a car. It wasn’t his car. It was one of those modern machines. Hadn’t he just been at the church? Oh right, he was shot. That he wasn’t dead was probably thanks to Lucifer. Thinking about Lucifer... Dean raised his head a bit. Lucifer was driving. In summary they must have somehow made it out without him dying, Lucifer must have healed him and they weren’t currently in his car.   
There was a lot to catch up with but Dean had to start with the most important question, the question that would clear everything up.  
“You can drive?”  
‘Ah, yes, amazing. The most important question, Dean. Did you hit your head?’ Dean thought to himself only a moment after he asked.   
“I have been around for millennia. I have to keep up with technology or I would draw a lot of attention.”  
The mental image of Lucifer getting into a police control on a horse with a toga on came to Dean’s mind and he chuckled, resting his head back. It woke him up a bit further and he tried to recollect what had happened at Blue Earth.   
“What happened after I got shot?”  
Lucifer hesitated and Dean was actually starting to dread the answer because Lucifer was never hesitant about anything.   
“Did you do something?”  
Before Lucifer could answer though, Dean’s phone rang. He shot Lucifer a stern look.  
“This isn’t over. Hey Sammy, what do you want?”  
“Dean, are you okay? I heard what happened and I feel so bad that I sent you to that town. I should’ve come with you and-“  
“Slow down, Samantha, no need to have a breakdown. I’m okay. Actually, I don’t have any idea what happened. When I… When we left everything was fine.”  
“Are you fucking with me? The church burned down! Only the pastor and some of the people survived!”  
Dean threw a questioning glance at Lucifer, who was suspiciously silent.   
“No, seriously, I didn’t see any fire.”  
“Cas said Lucifer was there.”  
That made Dean glare at Lucifer, mouthing ‘what have you done’. Lucifer waved him off. They would talk about this later.   
“We must’ve missed him.”  
“How do you miss the devil?”  
“I don’t know. We went there, decided that the folks there are crazy, and left.”  
“Yeah, the folks there are definitely crazy. I’m at Blue Earth right now and I swear Pastor Gideon knows something but he refuses to tell me anything. I bet he has seen Lucifer.”  
Dean shared a glance with Lucifer, who looked incredibly surprised.   
“You think so?”  
“Yeah, he told me that you two came here and that you left but there’s something that he isn’t telling us.”  
“Us?”  
“Yeah, Cas came with me.”  
“Ah, okay. Maybe you’re wrong and he’s just down after losing his daughter.”  
“What?”  
Oh shit, Sam hadn’t known that.   
“Yeah, was pretty tragic, so better not talk to him about it.”  
“So that means you asked and got yourself into an awkward situation.”  
“I’m not that insensitive.”  
“Sure.”  
Dean leaned his head down against the seat again, trying not to snap as his brother that he nearly dies and didn’t need him being a little shit right now. He didn’t want to tell him that though.   
“Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t ask him.”  
“Thanks.”  
“I still think he knows something though.”  
“Are you getting a bit paranoid?”  
“We need to find Lucifer. I don’t have time to let trail grow cold.”  
“Yeah yeah, I get it.”  
“Where are you anyway?”  
“Huh, good question. I was asleep. Lu… Luckily Mark is driving. Mark, where are we?”  
“Salisbury.”  
“Heard that, Sammy, Salisbury.”  
“What the Hell are you doing in Maryland?”  
“Don’t know. Maybe Maryland is-“  
“No, no, not Maryland. UK.”  
That silenced Dean pretty quickly and it finally hit him. His head was laying on the left side of the car. He was looking over at Lucifer diagonally. Lucifer was on the right side of the car, behind the wheel. In a moment Dean was sitting upright. Yes, they were definitely driving on the left side of the road, as were all the other drivers.  
“Dean? Dean!”  
“Ah, sorry, Sammy. What did you say?”  
“I asked what you’re doing in Maryland.”  
“Ah, yeah, you know, doing research. We wanna help, after all.”  
“You sure you don’t just want to do a normal hunt because you think I’m paranoid?”  
“Nah, don’t worry, we’re working on finding Lucifer. Just tell me if you’ve got a new lead.”  
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”  
After they hung up Dean leaned his head back against the seat. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment.  
“And what the fuck are we really doing in Salisbury?”  
“Stonehenge.”  
“Look, I appreciate sightseeing just as much as the average guy but we’re trying to stop the apocalypse here.”  
Lucifer seemed entirely too amused by this conversation and Dean was determined to get revenge for that.   
“War. Britain has a very long tight history with War. Stonehenge has had a lot of purposes but its very first purpose that your scientists do not know about it a meeting spot for opposing parties in a war. This is where War first appears. We need to get to him and take his ring.”  
“Seriously?”  
“Did you really think every part of the apocalypse takes place in America?”  
“Well, kinda. Things always kinda happened around us.”  
“That is not false but there is more to the apocalypse. We will just try to get the horsemen before they meet in America where the main part would start if we let it.”  
At least it made sense and Dean was all for stopping this as soon as possible. What he absolutely didn’t understand was why the fuck they had to pay to get in. Okay, he couldn’t just go up to the lady and tell her that they were trying to stop the apocalypse and therefore absolutely deserved to go in for free. He really didn’t want to see a british asylum from the inside. So he grudgingly paid for their entrance and then rushed up with Lucifer to the stone formation. Any other time he might get interested in it but his focus right now was on stopping War.   
“How do we take his ring from him?”  
“I would hope that he would give it to me if I tell him to.”  
“And if he doesn’t?”  
“Then we have to forcibly take it off him.”  
“Sounds like fun.”  
They came to a halt at the edge of the stone structure. In the middle of it stood a man. To the side, on that the path that definitely wasn’t a road, stood a red car.   
“Ah, Lucifer, I thought we would meet in Detroit?”  
“Well, things have changed. I do not want to end this world.”  
“Why? Is this world not depraved enough? I always have something to do. Maybe I want to have a break.”  
Dean didn’t like the arrogance of that guy.   
“Not a chance. You’re either gonna give us that ring or we’re gonna take it by force.”  
“Well, I am War. Who am I to say no to a fight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you believe me if I told you that I had to google where exactly Stonehenge is? 
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much to you all.


End file.
